The Forgotten Daughter
by xstar.lovex
Summary: Years after the Uchiha massacre, Kurenai discovers a secret about her family and herself that changes everything.
1. Chapter 1

The Forgotten Daughter

(A/N: This is just a story I thought of while my brother was playing Naruto:Clash of Ninja Revolution 2. He was Kurenai fighting Itachi and I thought to myself how much they looked alike. So, I decided to write a story about how Kurenai is an Uchiha. I wanted to write a more serious story than the one I was writing before, but I will try to make this humorous. I think the stories pretty blah, but it's ok. Tell me what you think! I hope you like it!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto )**

…

Prologue

16-year-old Mikoto held the dreaded pregnancy test in her hand. That little stick was the only thing that could determine her immediate future. She sighed and shook it, as if that would make the results come faster. Suddenly, a little blue positive sign appeared.

"Shit."

She sat down on the floor of her best friend Kushina's bathroom. She had confided in her best friend that she thought that she could be pregnant.

As if on cue, Kushina knocked on the door.

"Are you alright, Mikoto-chan?" she asked softly through the door.

Mikoto slowly stood up and opened the door.

"It was positive."

Kushina gasped, her eyes wide. "So what are you gonna do? Are you going to tell Fugaku?"

"No, I can't." Mikoto said, tears forming in her eyes. Kushina hugged the dark haired girl.

"It's okay, Mikoto. I'll help you."

Mikoto sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I know you will. And I'm grateful for you. I'll see you later."

Mikoto walked home to her apartment. She lived by herself. Her parents had allowed her to when she turned 16, believing she was responsible enough to live on her own. She was, after all, a top kunoichi who graduated first in her class in her days at the Ninja Academy.

Mikoto's boyfriend, Fugaku, saw her walking home alone. Mikoto's apartment wasn't too far from the Uchiha compound. In everyone's eyes, Fugaku and Mikoto were the perfect couple. They looked good together with their dark, long hair and dark eyes. Not to mention they were both very skilled ninja.

"Mikoto-chan!" Fugaku called to her.

Mikoto stopped and waited for her boyfriend to catch up with her. He greeted her with a kiss.

"What's wrong?" he asked, seeing the troubled look in his girlfriend's eyes.

"Nothing! Everything's fine!" Mikoto replied, quickly replacing the troubled look in her eyes.

"Do you want me to come home with you?" Fugaku asked, concerned.

"No, it's alright. I'm just tired. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" She kissed her boyfriend goodbye and ran into her apartment building.

As soon as she got into her ,apartment, she went into her bedroom , lay down on the bed, and cried.

"Okay, self-pity isn't going to get me anywhere." She said aloud, after crying for a while. Mikoto sat up and looked around her room. There were clothes and discarded weapons scattered on the floor.

She drifted off to sleep, figuring she could deal with the mess, and her situation, in the morning.

…

Mikoto woke up breathing heavily. She'd had a nightmare. In it, she was pregnant and told Fugaku. He'd hit her and threatened to kill her.

Doing her best to shake the dream off, she got up and brushed her long, black hair. Her mother had always told her she was pretty, and objected to her becoming a ninja. If only her mom knew that Mikoto being a ninja was the least of her worries…

Suddenly, Mikoto's stomach felt very tight and she felt it rising up to her throat. She rushed into the bathroom and threw up violently in the toilet.

As she went to the sink to brush her teeth, she heard a knock at the door. It was probably Fugaku. He worried too much about her. Thinking about this while brushing her teeth, she began to realize how silly her, nightmare was.

After she finished, she went to get the door. It was Fugaku, of course.

She didn't care that she was still in her pajamas. He'd seen her like that and in less than that, plenty of times before. As Fugaku kissed her, she marveled at how lucky she was for ending up with such an awesome boyfriend.

They had been together for almost two years before they decided to have sex for the first time. I had been one of the best nights in Mikoto's life.

But now, she was pregnant.

"Fugaku-kun, I have to tell you something." Mikoto said, deciding to tell him.

"What's wrong, Mikoto-chan?"

"Uhm, nevermind." Mikoto quickly changed her mind, remembering her nightmare.

" I'm going to go take a shower." She said, rushing into the bathroom, leaving Fugaku puzzled. He decided to go see what his girlfriend had to eat in the kitchen.

While in the shower, Mikoto finally decided what she was going to do.

…

After her shower, Mikoto checked to see if Fugaku was still there.

Of course, he was.

She loved him, but couldn't he leave her alone, just this once?

As soon as Mikoto sat down on the couch, there was another knock at her door.

"What is this? 'Bother Mikoto Day'?" she grumbled under her breath, getting up.

"I'll get it." Fugaku said, coming from the kitchen.

Minato was at the door. Minato Namikaze was Kushina's boyfriend and one of Fugaku's closest friends.

"Hey Minato. Kushina's not here." Fugaku told the spiky haired blonde.

"I know, I came to get you. I figured you would be here. Anyway, the Hokage needs you for something."

The dark-haired man groaned. "Alright. I'll see u later, Mikoto-chan." Fugaku kissed his girlfriend goodbye. The two men walked out of the apartment.

Mikoto sighed, glad they were gone. She called Kushina.

"Heello?" the red-haired girl answered her phone.

"I need your help. Could you come over?" Mikoto whispered into the phone.

"Sure, I'll be right over."

While Mikoto waited for her friend to arrive, she went into the kitchen and got an apple. She was starving. Next, she started writing a letter to Fugaku.

Kushina walked into Mikoto's apartment, she left the door open.

"Did you tell him?" Kushina asked, sitting down on Mikoto's bed.

"No. I can't, I told you. He'd hate me for bringing dishonor to his family. I had a nightmare about it." Mikoto teared up as she said it.

"Aw, don't say that. He wouldn't. You know that Fugaku loves you." Kushina said, comforting her friend.

Mikoto sniffled. "Whatever. I still can't tell him." She finished up her letter and put it in an envelope.

Mikoto took a deep breath. "That's why I'm leaving the village. I can take care of the child somewhere else."

Kushina became angry at this. "You can't leave! You're young and one of the Leaf's top kunoichi! Think about your child, he or she deserves to have both of its parents."

"Your right." Mikoto sighed. "Well, I guess I'll go to another village and give up the baby. I can't stay here. Do you know what people would say?"

"Yeah." Kushina said quietly. "Well, after you do all that, come back safe, okay?"

"I will. Hey, can you give this letter to Fugaku after I leave? It explains everything to him."

"Of course." Kushina said.

"Okay. Now, I need your help packing, I'm leaving tonight."

…

Later that night, Kushina escorted her best friend to the Konoha gate.

"Well, I guess that's it." She said, handing Mikoto her bags. "Be safe please. And come back soon."

Mikoto hugged her friend. "Don't worry, I will.

…

Mikoto decided to go to Suna, the closest place to Konoha. There, she met a girl named Karura, who was around the same age as her. Karura's family took her in. Mikoto looked for a person that would be fit to take care of her child while she was there.

During the hot summer in Suna, Mikoto and Karura sat in the park, trying to stay cool.

"Whoa, I am not used to all of this heat." Mikoto said, fanning herself. She was nearing the end of her pregnancy. Even though she was relieved, she would miss the child inside of her. She enjoyed every little movement the baby made and even talked to it.

Karura laughed. "It's not that bad once you get used to it." She said, brushing her sandy brown hair out of her face.

"I don't think I would ever want to get used to this." Mikoto laughed. Suddenly, she felt a sensation that felt like she was peeing on herself.

"Oh my goodness. I think my water just broke, Karura!" Mikoto exclaimed, holding her enormous stomach.

"Oh!" Karura stood up quickly. "Stay here, I'll go find you some help!" Karura said, running off.

"Please hurry!" Mikoto called after her, feeling the contractions starting.

…

The next day, Mikoto gave birth to a baby girl at the Suna General Hospital. After everyone visited her and the baby, she was exhausted. She looked down at the child in her arms.

Surprisingly, she wasn't asleep. The baby was staring intently at her mother with her brilliant red eyes.

"Your eyes, they're so unusual, yet beautiful." Mikoto told her child. "I'll name you Akahana, red rose."

Little Akahana smiled a little, and drifted off to sleep.

…..

Three months later, Mikoto still hadn't found a home for her child. She decided she needed to get back to Konoha soon, seeing as she'd been gone a year. Besides, if she stayed any longer, she would probably bring the baby back home with her.

Mikoto rocked Akahana to sleep one night and read the latest letter from Kushina.

How are you, Mikoto? I wish I could see your baby. She's probably beautiful. Who does she look like more? You or Fugaku? Or does she look like your parents? Or his parents? Speaking of Fugaku, I finally gave him the letter. He's furious and really wishes you had told him about your pregnancy. It took a whole lot of persuasion from Minato and I for him not to come find you. We didn't tell him where you were, don't worry. I saw you brother the other day. He's worried about you. We all miss you dearly. Hope you come back soon. Can't wait to see you.

_Love,_

_Kushina_

Mikoto smiled at the letter. She missed her hyperactive best friend. And she knew she was in for it when she got back to the Leaf Village. She decided she would write Kushina back later, but she wanted to take a walk right now.

"Karura, could you look after Akahana while I'm taking a walk? She's asleep." She called to Karura, who was in her room. The rest of the family was out shopping and Karura stayed home to make sure Mikoto was alright.

Mikoto walked down the path that led from Karura's house. Suna was beautiful at night, but it was getting cold, seeing as it was September.

As she walked further away from the house and towards the park where she and Karura always hung out, she saw a man playing with a little girl. The little girl was running around the park while the man was chasing her.

"I bet you can't catch me, oji-san!" The little girl screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Slow down, kid! Your mom's gonna kill me if I don't get you home on time!" he yelled to her.

Finally, the little girl stopped and the tired man picked her up.

"Put me down!" she giggled.

"No way!" the man replied, tickling her.

Mikoto smiled at the sight. She'd seen the man and his niece a few times before. She knew that he lived a few houses down from Karura.

Mikoto suddenly knew that this man would be a perfect father for Akahana.

Mikoto hurried back to Karura's house.

That night, she thought long and hard about giving her child up. After hours of tossing and turning, Mikoto made her mind up. Gently, she lifted her sleeping child out of her crib and put her in a basket lined with blankets. She stroked her sleeping child's face for a few minutes before putting on a dark cloak and racing outside, basket in hand.

Making sure no one saw her, she quickly kissed the baby goodbye, knocked on the man's door, and disappeared into the night, tears streaming down her face.

…

Torao Yuhi was a young and caring man. He had brilliant red eyes and short black hair. He was awakened from his sleep when he heard a loud knock on his door.

Groggily, he stood up and walked to the front door. When he opened the door, he saw a small basket filled with blankets. Curious, he lifted the blankets and saw a sleeping baby.

Puzzled, Torao looked around into the night before picking up the basket. There was no one there. Torao brought the basket inside and set it on the floor.

The baby woke up then and started crying.

"It's okay, don't cry." Torao told the baby in a soothing voice. He picked the baby up and she stopped crying and opened her eyes.

"Whoa."

The kid had brilliant red eyes, just like him.

_Could this baby be mine?_ He wondered.

He decided it couldn't. He hadn't had a grlfriend in years.

"Well since I should keep the baby, I might as well name it." He said aloud.

Torao decided to name the baby Kurenai, for her crimson eyes. He would think of what to tell his family about how he ended up with a baby somehow.

(_What'd you think? I think that was really bad, if you see something wrong, feel free to tell me so I can fix it.)_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1~~ The Forgotten Daughter

(A/N: _So gosh darn sorry for the long update! My heart wasn't into writing due to stress from school and junk. I was also very stuck with this story and no one would help me :P. Anywho, I shall update this story once a week from now on. IF I know what I wanna do with it. I really like writing this story, It's my first serious-ish and non-comedic/crack one. I'm sorry to you guys that had to wait and thank you for reading this, I had to make sure this was good cuz I don't want to disappoint anyone!)_

Kurenai was excited. She had just become a jonin and was about to meet her squad for the first time. While she was waiting for them to get out of school, she chatted with the other two jonin, Kakashi and Asuma.

"So Kurenai, what brings you to the Hidden Leaf?" Kakashi asked, while reading Icha Icha Paradise.

"Well, my family moved here a few years ago, but I was in Suna doing some training these past few years." Kurenai said, brushing her unruly hair out of her face. "How can you read that book?" She asked Kakashi.

"It's entertaining." Kakashi shrugged.

"You can never stop him from reading that book," Asuma chuckled. "He's read it at least 30 times now.

Iruka came into the room then.

"It's time to meet your teams." He told the jonin.

**

* * *

**

Kurenai took her team to the training field to get to know each other better.

"Okay guys, let's tell a little bit about ourselves to get to know one another." Kurenai said. " Who wants to start?" She looked at the three teenagers.

Shino and Kiba stared back at her, while Hinata stared at her hands.

"Come on guys, I won't bite." Kurenai coaxed.

"Akamaru might." Kiba said grinning. " So I'll go first."

Kurenai's first impression of Kiba Inuzuka was that he looked like a wild animal.

As he talked excitedly about various things about himself, Kurenai looked at the nervous girl that was HInata.

Wanting to help Hinata gain some confidence, Kurenai decided to get her to go next.

Fortunately for Hinata, Kiba talked for 10 minutes straight.

When Kiba was finished talking finally finished with his mini-speed, Kurenai said, "Why don't you go next Hinata?"

The lavender-eyed girl looked around nervously.

"Oh, ah. Um, c-could I go last?"

Before Kurenai could reply, Shino spoke up. "I'll go." He volunteered.

Hinata sighed in relief

* * *

Kurenai decided to walk Hinata home since she'd been unsuccessful in making her talk. For some strange reason, she felt very motherly towards the girl.

"So Hinata, do you have any siblings?"

Hinata looked down at her feet and talked quietly. "Y-yes. A younger sister, Hanabi. My father likes her better." She said the last statement with a half-hearted shrug.

Kurenai frowned at this. "Why does he like her better? Parents should love their children equally."

"He's given up on training me, he's practically disowned me."

Kurenai pondered this for a moment and decided to lighten the mood by asking Hinata other questions, like her favorite color and favorite food.

"I'll see you later, Kurenai-sensei." Hinata said when they reached the Hyuga compound.

Kurenai walked home, feeling sorry for her student. She wanted to help her out as much as possible, seeing as her father had all but abandoned her.

Feeling melancholy about Hinata's situation, the red-eyed jonin decided to go to Ichiraku ramen for something to eat. Besides, she hadn't been there in years.

Asuma was there with his team. Kurenai thought they were a funny group of kids.  
The kid with the swirlies on his face was gobbling down a bowl of ramen while a girl with long blonde hair was screaming at him to stop eating her ramen. The kid with the pineapple-shaped ponytail just looked tired and irritated.

Asuma sat back smoking a cigarette, looking amused at the scene going on before him.

"Those three must be a handful." Kurenai said, coming up behind him.

"They definitely are so far. But I'll get used to it, I'm sure. My nephew, Konohamaru acts like them sometimes."

Kurenai laughed. She liked Asuma, he was a cool guy.

"Mind if I join you guys? I don't feel like going home just yet."

"Sure, go ahead." Asuma said, gesturing to a the seat next to him.

The blonde-haired girl stopped yelling for a while and acknowledged Kurenai.

"Hi, I'm Ino! Who are you? Are you Asuma-sensei's girlfriend? Sensei, why didn't you tell me you had a girlfriend?" The girl talked a mile a minute.

"Ino, don't ask personal questions. This is why people don't tell you stuff. Troublesome woman…" The spiky-haired kid sighed.

"No one asked you, Shikamaru!" Ino yelled at him. Turning back to Kurenai and Asuma, Ino asked, "Well are you?"

"She's not. Now eat Ino." Asuma said, lighting another cigarette.

"But Choji ate it!" Ino whined, before turning back to her empty ramen bowl.

"Sorry about her." Asuma told Kurenai.

"It's fine. She's funny."

The two jonin were quiet for a moment.

"You know, you shouldn't smoke so much. It's bad for your health." Kurenai said, breaking the silence.

"You can't tell me what to do." Asuma grinned, playfully blowing smoke into Kurenai's face.

"That's disgusting." Kurenai said, waving the smoke out of her face. "Well, I'd better get home now. I'm training my team in the morning."

"Alright, see you later."Asuma said, a little sad that she had to leave.

"Bye. Kurenai-sensei!" Ino waved. "I'm sure we'll be seeing you a lot." Ino winked.

Kurenai laughed then started on her way home.

* * *

At home, Kurenai couldn't sleep. The house was too quiet, seeing as it was well-past midnight.

On nights like these, she would sit on the roof of the house and look at pictures of her family.

Both of her parents were dead and her younger brother had moved back to Suna, so she didn't see him too much.

Getting out of bed, Kurenai walked over to her bookshelf and took out the book that the pictures were in. She went to the attic and up to the roof.

The night was warm and virtually cloudless, it reminded Kurenai of her early childhood in Suna.

After settling down on the roof, Kurenai started flipping through the photos.

The first was a picture of her as a baby, with her father. He was very young in the picture, smiling down at a laughing baby Kurenai.

The next picture was her parents wedding. Kurenai was five years old and had a few teeth missing when she smiled.

One of the last pictures was Kurenai's favorite. It was a picture of Torao the night he went to help fight the Nine-Tails. He looked proud in his ninja gear, going to fight for his village. Kurenai had wanted to help him and her mother, but they wouldn't let her. It had been the last time she ever saw her parents.

She smiled at the sight of him. He was the closest-looking relative she had, and even he didn't look much like her.

When Kurenai closed the photo album, a wrinkled picture fell out. In the picture was a woman staring lovingly down at a baby, while the baby slept silently.

Kurenai figured that the baby couldn't be her brother, Shinji, because the woman had black hair and their mother's hair was dark brown. Who was the baby then? Her? And why was Kurenai just now seeing this picture?

Kurenai silently put the picture but into the album then went back into the house and put the album away. She was afraid she would never get her answers. Unless she asked her aunt, but there was no guarantee should would know, since she was only a few years older than Kurenai.

She had always known there was something weird about her family. She always wondered why her parents had gotten married when she was five years old. She figured they ought to have been married already. Also, whenever she asked where she was born, her father always changed the subject. And why didn't she look like her brother, who had completely different features from her, and brown hair like their mother.

The last strange thing happened when Kurenai was 14. She discovered she could use activate the Sharingan, a kekkei genkai exclusive to the Uchiha clan. As far as Kurenai knew, no one else in her family had this ability, nor was she related to an Uchiha. But then again, Kakashi could use the Sharingan and he wasn't an Uchiha.

Tired from all the thinking she had done, Kurenai drifted off to sleep. She could figure it out later.

(_Ok, so that's all for now. I need some more ideas, so PM me if you have any. Also, how was it? It seemed like it would be a little confusing to me but idk. Just tell me what you thought!)_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2~~ The Forgotten Daughter

_(A/N: Yeah so not much to say. I've been too lazy to write it out in my notebook like I usually do, so this chapter may be kinda short.I may jump do flashbacks of Mikoto after she gave up Kurenai leading up until she finds out what happened to her. This chapter is Sasuke as a little kid finding out. If I do it continuosly, the flashbacks will be like every other chapter. But anywho, I still need ideas or this is gonna be a short-ish story. I'm trying to think about how to get from one point to the other. But anyway, enjoy!)_

Sasuke was bored. His older brother Itachi and his dad were out training, leaving Sasuke out again. His mom would usually entertain him by telling him a story or something, but she was in one of her moods.

When Mikoto was in one of her moods, she was better left alone.

It wasn't as if she was mean or instantly annoyed when someone bothered her. She was just very quiet and withdrawn, and usually melancholy when someone tried to talk to her.

Sasuke wasn't sure what brought on these moods, but today Sasuke had asked his mother to teach him some new techniques and about her days as a ninja. After she gave him a brief story with little details, he asked her why she'd stopped being a ninja in the first place.

Mikoto and looked at him and sighed.

"Was it because you got married and had Itachi?" Sasuke had asked curiously.

"No, I had Itachi years after I retired from being a ninja."

The truth was, after she'd returned from Suna, she'd realized what a big mistake giving the baby away was. She thought that ninja work would help her get over her depression but when she was sent to Suna on a misson, she couldn't take it. After that mission, she decided to retire, all to avoid going to Suna.

Anyway, Sasuke was sitting near a pond near the back of the Uchiha compound, bored out of his mind. As he watched the tiny fish swim, he decided to go back home and see if his dad and brother were back.

Just as he neared his house, he saw his mom standing on the back porch with her eyes closed. She usually wouldn't venture outside when she was in that state of mind, but there she was.

Sasuke stopped in his tracks to watch his mom in her peaceful moment. Mikoto stood as the wind blew through her hair for a few moments before opening her eyes.

"Oh, Sasuke. I didn't see you there."

"I'm sorry for disturbing you, Mother." Sasuke bowed his head, embarrassed.

"It's okay." Mikoto walked over to her son and patted him on the head.

"Will you tell me a story, Mother? I don't mean to bother you, I'm just really bored."

"Maybe some other time, Sasuke. I have to get dinner ready before you father and brother get back."

Mikoto said, turning to go back into the house.

"Well could I help you?" Sasuke said running after her.

"Sure."

* * *

Dinner was a quiet affair. Sasuke kept looking at his mother, who was pointedly staring down at her bowl.

Fugaku was glaring hard at Mikoto the whole time, trying to get her to meet his gaze.

Itachi was oblivious to this, or at least pretending to be, knowing him.

When Itachi was done with his dinner, he got up abruptly from the dinner table. Sasuke quickly finished his so that he could follow his big brother.

Sasuke found Itachi in his room, lying on his bed.

"What do you want, Sasuke?" Itachi asked, staring at the ceiling.

"What's going on with Mother? Why was Father staring at her like that? And why do you seem so angry?"

Itachi continued staring at the ceiling before turning to look at his little brother.

"You sure are observant." Itachi said, smirking at his little brother.

"Well I want to know what's going on, big brother."

Itachi sighed. "There are some things that even I don't understand, Sasuke."

Sasuke was stunned. Itachi was supposed to know everything.

"Are they having marital problems?" Sasuke asked.

"No I think it's actually deeper than that," Itachi said frowning. "Oh well, I'm sure they'll tell us in due time."

"What if they don't?"

Itachi shrugged. "Well I guess we weren't meant to know, then."

* * *

Sasuke couldn't sleep that night. He was worried about his mother. Finally, when he couldn't take it anymore, Sasuke got up to go spy.

Sasuke crept down the hallway to the living room. He heard a hushed conversation going on. It sounded like his parents were arguing. After listening a while, he decided Itachi was in there too.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Itachi was whispering.

"We didn't think you were ready." Mikoto said quietly.

"Well why are you telling me this now?" Itachi was saying.

"Because your mother wants you to go find her." Fugaku replied.  
Her? Who were they talking about? A long lost relative of Mikoto's? A potential wife for Itachi?

"I wouldn't even know what she looks like or where to find her." Itachi continued.

"That's why you have to look!" Mikoto whispered harshly.

"Why can't you do it, since you want to find her so badly?" Itachi bitterly said.

"I just couldn't." Mikoto said, softening her tone.

After what seemed like an hour of silence, Itachi finally spoke up.

"No. I'm not going to look for her." Sasuke heard footsteps coming towards the door and he quickly tried to run.

Itachi opened the screen and looked at his little brother.

"Mother and Father won't like that you've been eavesdropping. Go to bed, Sasuke." Itachi said coldly, before walking off to his room.

Sasuke nodded silently but stuck around after he was sure Itachi was gone. Putting his ear to the door, he listened to his parents conversation. His mom sounded like she was crying.

"Shh, it's ok. We can still find her. I'll even look for her."

Mikoto stopped crying.

"If anyone were to look for her, it would have to be me. You wouldn't be able to recognize her because you've never seen her."

"Well you wouldn't either, the last time you saw her, she was a newborn. She has to be about 20 by now."

Why was Mikoto so upset because Itachi wouldn't look for a girl? Sasuke wondered.

"I would know who she was if I saw her." Mikoto continued to say. "I am her mother after all."

Mother? But Sasuke didn't have a sister, did her?

"You're right. I still don't want you going alone."

"Alright, we'll just have to find a time to look for her. I hope to see my daughter at least one more time before I die."

(_So, what did ya think? It was kinda rushed I think, but anyway, hope you liked it ^^)_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3~~

(A/N: Hello my lovelies. I have returned. I decided to keep writing one day when I was home from school sick because I missed it and fan fiction and I hate when authors don't finish their stories, so this will definitely be finished. Idk how long it'll take cuz I kinda don't have internet at the moment so I'm being a hobo and posting this wherever I get wifi lol. I have been writing and I've written two chapters so I just have to get around to posting, which hopefully won't take too long. Then there's school…argh. Anywho, I'm shutting up now.)

"Alright Team, The Hokage has given us a few D-ranked missions to prepare for bigger ones and to get you guys into the swing of things."

Kiba, who was the unofficial spokesperson for Team 8, spoke up. "All right! Wait, it better not be one of those missions where we have to walk an old lady across the street."

Hinata giggled and Kurenai frowned.

"Even if it was one of those missions, you all wouldn't be allowed to go on more exciting ones until you complete all the lower ranked missions assigned to you."

"Fine." Kiba grunted.

"Now, if we're done here, the Sandaime is waiting to give us our mission."

* * *

"You want us to do WHAT?" Kiba screeched at the Third Hokage.

"Your mission, Team 8, is to babysit my grandson, Konohamaru." The old man repeated slowly.

"Hell no! We're ninja, not babysitters!" Kiba roared. Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Kiba…" Kurenai warned the boy for what felt like the 50th time.

"Um, maybe it'll be fun." Hinata spoke up optimistically.

"I suppose." Shino said. He was indifferent to everything anyway.

Kiba sighed in annoyance. "Where is the brat, anyway?""Oh, he just had to use the restroom. He'll be back any minute now." The Third Hokage said casually.

"Well, you certainly don't need me here." Kurenai said.

"Trying to get rid of us so fast, Sensei?" Kiba joked.

Just then, a kid with a green helmet and a super long scarf burst through the door.

"Grandpa, you brought me new people to play with?" Konohamaru asked gleefully.

"Oh no…" Shino muttered.

Kurenai laughed and poofed away.

"NOO SENSEI YOU CAN'T LEAVE US!" Kiba yelled at the top of his lungs.

* * *

Since her team's mission seemed pretty simple, Kurenai didn't feel the least bit guilty about leaving them. So, she went to talk to Hiashi Hyuga.

She knocked on the door of the Hyuga compound. It took a while, but an irritated Hiashi opened the door.

"Yes?"

"Hello, Mr. Hyuga. I'm Kurenai Yuhi, Hinata's sensei."

"Have you come to complain about what a failure she is? I should've warned you." Hiashi said apologetically.

"Huh? Your daughter isn't a failure. She's a very kind and sweet girl. That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

Hiashi was starting to get impatient once these words came out of Kurenai's mouth. "Look, I'm very busy and I can't be bothered with this nonsense. My daughter is weak and wouldn't make a suitable heir to the Hyuga clan. As the clan leader, I have to make sure our clan remains strong and she's clearly not the person that would make sure that happens. So do not come to talk to me about my daughter anymore." With that, Hiashi slammed the door.

Kurenai was stunned. How could a man talk about his own child like that? How could he have so little faith in her? It broke her heart.

"It'll be ok Hinata. You don't need him." Kurenai whispered to herself as she turned and walked away from the home.

"Oh well, I suppose I should go pick up my team now."

* * *

"It was awful Sensei! The kid put a saddle on Akamaru and tried to ride him like a horse!' Kiba exclaimed later.

Kurenai took her team out for Korean barbeque after their long and tiring mission.

"It's true but we had a lot of fun, Sensei." Hinata giggled.

Shino shrugged. "He didn't seem to like my bugs vbry much."

Kurenai laughed.

"See ya later Kurenai sensei!" Kiba called after they were done eating and going home.

Hinata lingered near Kurenai after Shino and Kiba left.

"You know, I talked to your father today." Kurenai said to her.

"Oh. You didn't have to do that Sensei." Hinata said, looking at her hands.

"I did. I hate the way he treats you. You can talk to me about anything, you know."

"Thank you." Hinata quickly bowed. "I should get going now. Thanks again for dinner."

"Anytime." Kurenai smiled, then sighed when Hinata was no longer in sight. Behind her, someone cleared their throat.

"Oh hey, Asuma. Where'd you come from?"

"I was just taking a walk to clear my head. What about you?" Asuma walked up to Kurenai and stood beside her.

"Just taking my team out for dinner after a mission. I think I'll head home now, though."

"I'll walk you home." Asuma offered.

While they walked, Kurenai told Asuma about her team's first mission babysitting Konohamaru.

"Those poor kids." Asuma laughed. "My nephew can be a handful."

"Wait, Konohamaru's your nephew?" Kurenai asked.

"Yup. The Hokage's my dad."

"Now that I think about it, you do kind of look like him." Kurenai stared at Asuma intently, seeing the resemblence.

They made it to her apartment by then.

"Thanks Asuma. I'll see you later." Kurenai turned to go into the building.

"Wait, can I ask you something?" Asuma inquired, his face becoming serious.

"Sure, what's wrong?"

"Um, never mind. Good night." Asuma lit a cigarette and went on his way.

"Hm, wonder what was up with him." Kurenai said aloud to herself as she made her way into her apartment.

Kurenai went over to her bookshelf and pulled out the picture of the woman and baby again. She studied it very closely.

"Why is this in here…" Kurenai thought to herself. It must be someone else's picture. Perhaps it was her aunts. Or maybe it was someone else's picture that had somehow gotten into her photo album. Nothing was making sense. She needed sleep.

* * *

Kurenai woke up in a dark room. She seemed to be on the floor wrapped in something. She saw a shadowy figure in the room with her, moving quickly.

Alarmed, Kurenai tried to get up , but felt that she couldn't properly control her body. She tried calling out, but only a small cry escaped from her mouth.

The figure, who appeared to be a giant person, turned and looked at her.

_Why can't I move? _Kurenai thought to herself.

She gasped as the person's face came into better focus. The face belonged to a young woman who had dark hair like she did. The young woman picked Kurenai up, rocking ans shushing her.

"Shh, Hana-chan. It's ok."

That was when Kurenai realized she was a baby. But why? And where the heck was she?

Kurenai tried talking again, but a small cry escaped from her mouth, once again.

The woman shushed her once more before placing her back into a blanket-filled basket and covered her with more blankets.

Kurenai cried out in surprise. It was really dark under all those blankets. As she felt the basket being carried, she realized the woman looked an awful like the woman in the photo.

The woman stopped and set the basket down.

"I love you." She whispered to Kurenai.

It was silent for a while then Kurenai heard a door opening.

Then Kurenai woke up in her own bed, panting. She stared into the darkness of her bedroom, trying to make sense of what just happened.

What was with that dream?


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4~~

(A/N: Not much to say about this. Lots more characters and stuff in this chapter. Sorry it tool so long, no internet. I've had it typed up for about 3 weeks tho lol.

Enjoy)

Mikoto quietly slipped outside. The breeze felt amazing in the dead of the night. Everyone was sleeping of course, so no one noticed her leaving.

She'd been restless over the past few weeks and she'd finally decided she was going to find her daughter and see her at least once before she died. After making sure she had everything she needed, Mikoto left for Suna.

DIVIDER

A few days later, Mikoto arrived at the sweltering Sand village. Everything looked different, but there was something still familiar about it.

Still, Mikoto didn't even know where to start. She stopped an old man who happened to be walking by.

"Excuse me, can you tell me the way to the Kazekage's mansion?"

The man gave her directions and she quickly thanked him before heading off to the Kazekage's mansion. She'd figured she could try to find some record of her daughter or someone she knew who would lead her to Akahana.

As Mikoto walked through the streets of Suna, she took in all the sights. The merchants selling exotic spices and foods, people aimlessly walking in the streets to get to their destination, people trying to find relief from the sweltering heat. Mikoto was glad her daughter had been raised here. There was just something that felt like home here.

DIVDER

"Hello, what can I do for you?' The receptionist at the Kazekage's mansion asked Mikoto.

"Is there any way I could see the records of citiens?" Mikoto asked.

"Give me the name of who you're looking for and I'll see what I can do for you." The receptionist replied.

Mikoto thought for a while. She couldn't remember the name of the neighbor who she'd given Akahana to. Then again, she didn't know if he'd kept her either. She decided to ask the name of the family she'd stayed with while in Suna.

She had kept in touch with Karura for a few years after she left Suna, so Karura was who she asked for.

The receptionist looked through a few files before pausing and looking at Mikoto.

"You don't mean the Kazekage's wife, do you?"

Mikoto was surprised. She didn't remember Karura mentioning she was getting married. But then again, it'd been a while.

"Her husband's the Kazekage?"

The receptionist nodded and said,"Well, he was her husband. She died about 5 years ago."

Once again, Mikoto was shocked. Her dear friend was gone? Karura was also probably the only chance Mikoto would have at finding Akahana, too.

"How did she die?" Mikoto whispered to the receptionist.

The woman was embarrassed. "Well, Kazekage-sama doesn't like for anyone to discuss the circumstances his wife died under. So I'm not really allowed to tell you." She smiled apologetically.

Now, Mikoto was really discouraged. "Well, can I speak with the Kazekage? Seeing as I was a good friend of his wife."

"I don't think he'd allow it, but I'll check." The receptionist called up to the Kazekage's office.

While Mikoto was waiting, she saw a little boy with red hair, 'love' tattooed on his forehead, and a weird looking teddy bear come into the waiting area. She stared at the child, who looked like he was the same age as Sasuke. The young boy just stared back at Mikoto, his face expressionless.

The receptionist was just hanging up the phone when she saw the boy.

"Gaara, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with Yashamaru?"

"Oh…I guess so." Gaara muttered to the woman.

The receptionist turned back to Mikoto. "You can go up now, but hurry. Kazekage-sama is very busy."

Mikoto thanked the woman, then hurried up the stairs to meet Karura's husband.

When she got to his office, she meekly knocked on the door.

"What is it?" A rough voice demanded.

Mikoto opened the door to reveal the scary looking man with a scowl on his face.

Mikoto bowed. "Hello, Kazekage-sama. I'm Mikoto Uchiha, Karura's friend."

"I'd appreciate it if we didn't speak of my wife." The grumpy man told her.

"Well, I apologize in advance because I came to talk about her. Well, not completely about her." Mikoto said, slightly embarrassed.

The Fourth Kazekage waited expectantly. "Well? What do you want? I have a lot of work to do."

"Well, I don't want to bring up your wife-"

"Don't then." The Kazekage snapped.

Mikoto sighed, then continued.

"But, I was wondering if she ever told you about my daughter."

The Kazekage's expression softened a bit. Just a little.

"Yes… Karura seemed very sympathetic whenever she talked about your situation."

"Is there any way you could help me find her?" Mikoto whispered to one of her best friends' husband. "The man who I gave her to was a neighbor of Karura's and I was wondering if you could tell me his name."

The Kazekage sighed and opened a door underneath his desk that seemed as if it hadn't been opened in a very long time. He pulled out a box with a thin layer of dust on it and handed it to Mikoto.

"What's this?" Mikoto asked, puzzled.

"Karura kept all of your letters and other miscellaneous stuff in here. There's probably something in here that can help you find your daughter. Take it, it's of no use to me."

"Thank you so much!" Mikoto turned to leave, but paused. "But what if there's nothing useful in here?"

The Kazekage just shrugged. "Please leave now."

DIVIDER

Back in the lobby, Mikoto looked through the box. There were the letters she and Karura had exchanged over the years. There was also a picture of the house where Karura's family had lived.

In the photo was a much younger and very pregnant Mikoto and a smiling Karura.

A street sign was in the far corner of the picture.

Mikoto squinted to make out the characters on the sign.

"Oh…I remember now." She smiled and left the Kazekage's mansion to find Karura's old house.

DIVIDER

After half an hour of wandering around Suna looking for Karura's old house, she finally found it. She recognized the big house where she'd spent the majority of her pregnancy.

After knocking loudly on the door, half expecting someone to answer, an old woman came to the door, squinting at Mikoto.

"Uhm…Hello." Mikoto smiled at the woman. She seemed familiar.

"Is that you, Mikoto?" The woman inquired.

Mikoto realized it was Karura's mom, who she'd always called Kaasan because she thought of her as her own mother.

"Yes, it's me." Mikoto grinned and hugged Karura's mother.

"I never thought I would see you again." Kaasan sobbed.

Mikoto patted the older woman's back, comforting her. "I'm going to stay in Suna for a little while."

"Well you know you have to stay here!" Kaasan exclaimed, taking a step back to look at Mikoto.

"Ok. But I have some questions for you, I need your help."

"Of course! Let's catch up first, I'll go make some tea."

DIVIDEr

After several cups of tea and other random conversation, Kaasan asked suddenly, "Have you met my grandchildren?"

Mikoto shook her head 'no'. " I've met your son-in-law, though. He seems…interesting."

Kaasan laughed, then sighed sadly. "He's a complicated man. He got even worse after Karura died."

"How did she die anyway? Karura never seemed like the type of person to die so young."

Kaasan sighed again, tiredly. "The Kazekage had a tailed beast sealed inside of Gaara, my youngest grandson, while she was still pregnant with him. She died giving birth to him. Now, Gaara's feared and hated by everyone. His father has even isolated him from his siblings, so Gaara stays with my son Yashamaru. Although Yashamaru is caring, I still feel awful for Gaara. None of this should have happened."

There was a heavy silence as Mikoto took all of this in. Karura had died for her child, that didn't seem like something the Kazekage should keep from talking about. It also reminded her of Kushina, who'd also died for her child, along with Minato.

"It's sad the way these things happen." Mikoto said, breaking the silence. " My best friend, Kushina, also died after she gave birth to her son. A tailed beast was sealed inside of him too, but for a good reason."

"I just wish I could see my grandchildren. Yashamaru tries to bring Gaara over whenever he can but I'd like to see the other two sometimes." Kaasan began clearing the tea cups from the table. "How have you been?" She asked Mikoto.

"I've been all right, I suppose. I'm married now, of course. And I have two sons, Sasuke and Itachi. But what I really wanted to ask you was if you could help me find Akahana."

"I don't think the family still lives there. They moved to Konoha a while ago. And her parents died when the Nine Tail's attacked." Kaasan explained.

Mikoto gasped. Her daughter had been in the same village as her for who knows how long. She could've seen her without knowing! But then again, Akahana was probably about 20 by now, so she wouldn't know what she looked like.

"Could we go by the house, just to check if someone lives there?" Mikoto asked Kaasan, hopeful.

"Sure." Kaasan smiled. "But let's go tomorrow. For now, rest."


End file.
